Provided by another contributor Oct. 2018:

Suggested edit: Greene County Tax Assessor for 20 years.

Services for John Pickering, 72, 1100 W. Linwood, were to be at 1:30 p.m. today in First and Calvary Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Jack Stanley Hart officiating. Burial will be in Maple Park Cemetery under direction of Gorman-Scharpf-Abbott. Mr. Pickering died at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday at ST. John's Regional Health Center after apparently suffering a heart attack. Memorial Contributions may be made to the Boy's Club. [Springfield Leader and Press Thu 13 Nov 1980 p 12]

Friends, family pay respects to former county assessor by Susan Soric / The Daily News
First and Calvary Presbyterian Church was nearly full Thursday afternoon with relatives, friends, and associates of former Greene County Assessor John Pickering. Pickering, 72, of 1100 W. Linwood, died Tuesday at St. John's Regional Health Center after suffering an apparent heart attack. Nearly 600 people attended his funeral and about 100 of them attended a brief graveside ceremony at Maple Park Cemetery. Church pastor Jack Stanley Hart spoke of Pickering in prayer. Pickering was assessor for 20 years. Hart credited Pickering with living "The Royal Low of Love."
"He is a man of dignity, consistency, of deep personal character, born of the royal love of God himself. It is fitting we should say of our loved on John Pickering that he is one who reflected that phrase." Among Pickering's friends and associates attending his funeral were Greene County officeholders, judges and bailiffs, sheriff-elect John Pierpont and Southwest Missouri State University President Duane Meyer. Escorts included Pierpoint, C. Arch Bay, James F. Clutter, Carl Mitchell, W. L. "Ben" Preston, Lyle Reed, B. D. Saxton and Lloyd . Warren Jr. [Spfd News-Leader Fri 14 Nov 1980 p 12]